Emeli Sande is determined to be "in control" of her own career

Emeli told The Sun on Sunday newspaper's Bizarre column: "From the things that are said behind your back, it's just that feeling of, 'Oh, you know, a silly woman doesn't quite know what she's talking about. Let's tell her what's best'.

"Your opinion doesn't make it to the boardroom.

"It is a bit of a weird situation to be in when you've made the music, but then you get told, 'This is the best song'.

"But my music is something that really comes from my soul. So even if I can't do the big moves that some of these ex ecs can do, I want to be in control of what's happening to the end."

Emeli's new single, 'Roots', is a nod to the "different cultures" that have influenced her approach to life and to music.

The award-winning star said: "I've had my mum's English heritage, I was born in Sunderland, my dad's Zambian, then we moved to Scotland.

"I've always had all these different parts of me going on and sometimes I felt like I had to select one and be like, 'I'm just that or just this'.

"Now I just feel like, you know what? I am who I am."

Emeli previously explained that her old music makes "much more sense now".

The singer - who released her debut album, 'Our Version of Events', back in 2012 - told the Daily Star newspaper: "It's so weird, it feels like my songs are predicting my future.

"I have songs that I wrote seven years ago - and when I sing them now, I am like, 'Oh this makes so much more sense now. Now that I am older I am able to fully understand what I was trying to say then. It's like the songs are leaving the reverse breadcrumbs."